Liberty overcomes Becahi

The Hurricanes stay undefeated by rallying from 10 points down.

October 10, 2004|By Andre D. Williams Of The Morning Call

There was nothing flat about the way Liberty played rival Bethlehem Catholic in the second half of a Lehigh Valley Conference game Saturday night. It was more like a dogfight. Runs were hard. Hits were harder.

But that was to be expected. After all, the schools are separated by only a few minutes.

"There is nobody I want to beat more than Beca," said Liberty sophomore quarterback Dan Persa.

Until Persa took the helm last season, Liberty had not beaten the Golden Hawks in 18 years.

Persa helped snap that streak last season, and his second-half play along with the running of fullback Matt Sterner enabled Liberty to overcome a 10-0 halftime deficit and throttle the Hawks 19-10 before a crowd of 9,500 at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium.

Some Liberty students stormed the field seconds after linebacker Richard Jarnigan's interception of an Alex Atiyeh pass down field had punctuated the Hurricanes' biggest victory of the season.

Liberty improved to 6-0 for the first time since 1970, and the 'Canes are 4-0 and tied with Easton for first place in the LVC. Bethlehem Catholic (3-3, 3-1) is still alive for the LVC title, but the loss essentially eliminated the Hawks from the PIAA playoff race.

The Hawks ran 32 plays to Liberty's 15 and outgained the Hurricanes 134-54 in the first half. But the momentum changed on the 'Canes' first play in the third quarter when Sterner (15 carries, 99 yards) rumbled right and kept on trucking for a 58-yard gain to the 4-yard line.

"That started the whole thing," Persa said. "That was the first play. That set the tone for the whole second half."

Persa gained a spark, too. His passes became sharper as he found wideout Brendan Vanackeren (six catches, 58 yards) across the middle, and in the fourth quarter he hooked up with Raymond Olivo on two backbreaking pass plays.

His first toss to Olivo covered 47 yards. His next was a sideline pass on a fourth-and-4 that Olivo caught near the sidelines, spun, gained his balance and coasted 14 yards for a score that put the 'Canes ahead 13-10 with 6:22 remaining.

Persa was 11-for-18 for 134 yards. He was intercepted once, early in the game.

"I'm 2-for-2 now against Beca," said Persa, who was the starting QB in last season's 9-6 win. "I want to go 4-for-4."

Sterner has played his last game against the Hawks, and it's one he'll long remember.

"It's a rivalry game," Sterner said. "It can't get any better than this. We had a huge crowd, it was on TV, and we came out on top."

The play: Cory McFadden 2 run (Nate Hodor kick). The drive: 15 plays, 80 yards, 7:57. The keys: Quarterback Alex Atiyeh had 13-yard completions to McFadden and Kyle Newell on long third down plays, and Gary Bailey gained 3 yards on a fourth-and-three.

Bethlehem Cath. 10, Liberty 0 (:10)

The play: Hodor 24-yard field goal. The drive: Four plays, 14 yards, 2:40. The key: Mark Scattene intercepted pass at 40 and returned to inside the 20.

THIRD QUARTER

Bethlehem Cath. 10, Liberty 6 (11:01)

The play: Matt Sterner 2 run (kick blocked). The drive: Three plays, 62 yards, :51. The key: Sterner's 58-yard run on first play.